As computer systems have advanced, processing power and speed have increased substantially. At the same time, the processors and other computer components has decreased in size allowing them to be part of an increasing number of devices. Cameras and mobile devices have benefited significantly from the advances in computing technology. The addition of camera functionality to mobile devices has made taking photographs and video quite convenient. Upon invoking the camera function, the camera calibrates to adjust the focus. However during this focus calibration, the image on the screen may be blurred or distorted which is unpleasant to the user. In addition, the user will likely not be able to use the camera during the focus calibration.
In order to compete with traditional cameras, mobile devices are increasingly being fitted with higher megapixel capacity and higher quality cameras. As stereoscopic three dimensional (S3D) movies have become popular, an increasingly popular option is to have two cameras on the mobile device to allow capture of S3D images and video. Conventional solutions often include two identical high resolution cameras each with a higher number of megapixels. Unfortunately, the inclusion of two such high end cameras significantly increases the cost and power usage of mobile devices.
Thus, while two high megapixel cameras may allow taking high quality S3D images or video, the inclusion of such high megapixel cameras significantly increases the cost and power usage and may unduly increase the size of the device.